There’s bin a mistake, council admits

General waste pink bins and black ones meant for recycling should be emptied in different weeks — but one resident told the Advertiser that RMBC crews were regularly doing both.

The suggestion is that black bins are being used for regular rubbish by some residents, rather than for cans and bottles as intended.

The resident said: “We’ve long had problems with litter and fly-tipping and now the latest one is the current situation with the bin collections.

“Some people around Eastwood are getting two collections. I’ve seen them taking both the pink bins and the black bins on the same day.

“If people’s pink bins are full, they just start filling up the black bin with the same rubbish, which is contaminating the recycling.

“If bin staff are being told to pick up both, then we should be told. It looks like it’s snowballed from them picking up a few because it was the easier option.”

Tom Smith, the council’s assistant director for community safety and streetscene, said: “There are no special arrangements for bins in Eastwood and the same rules are in place across the borough.

“Some residents are entitled to a second general waste bin because of the size of their household or because of particular medical needs, and these households are able to register to use their black bin for that additional general waste.

“However we are aware that some unregistered black bins have been collected in error in recent weeks.

“We will be contacting these households to ensure proper arrangements are now in place in line with the council’s rules.”